Redeeming Travel Awards

By Author: Steve Robinson
Total Articles: 467
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Some travelers who prize cheap airplane tickets and cheap vacation packages have become very discouraged when trying to cash in miles or points for free travel because of the lack of availability of free travel options when they want to use them.

The following are tips when trying to use travel rewards:

• Since American travel companies tend to adjust their rates around school calendars, if you do not have children of school age, try to schedule travel when families are not typically traveling.

• Be flexible when planning a trip, since departing or returning even a couple of days earlier or later can result in finding available award flights. Often flights departing on Tuesdays are more available than on Mondays.

• Even during busy holiday periods there are lulls within those times. Travelers frequently find great deals by flying on major holidays such as Thanksgiving or Christmas.

• Just because a travel company claims to have “no blackout dates” does not necessarily mean that seats or accommodations will be available. If you want to travel during busy seasons, the best rule ...
... is that the earlier you book, the better. Airlines usually load flights into their reservations systems 330 days prior to departure.

• If you are trying to redeem mileage to be used on a carrier’s partner airline, check to see if that partner has different blackout dates than the airline whose miles you will be using.
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